Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui heads a list of 60 players eligible for free agency this season, the Japanese Pro Baseball Commissioner's Office said Saturday.
This season, Matsui and 13 others, including Hanshin Tigers pitchers Hideki Irabu and Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi as well as outfielder Naoyuki Omura of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, qualified for free agency for the first time.
Yokohama BayStars infielder Takuro Ishii and Chiba Lotte Marines infielder Koichi Hori became eligible for the second time in their careers while players such as Seibu's Tsutomu Ito, who has been appointed manager of the Lions, still have the right to free agency even after retirement.